Dr Regina Macalandag is an empathy and governance scholar with a PhD in public policy and governance from The Australian National University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the Philippines – Cebu. She completed her Master of Arts in Development Studies Specialisation Women, Gender, and Development from the International Institute of Social Studies – Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Hague, The Netherlands). She has taught subjects on Gender, Inclusive Disaster Governance, and Sustainable Futures. Her research interest spans the themes of public policy, governance, gender, social inclusion, disaster governance, critical empathy, and state–indigenous relations in the Philippines, employing critical research methodologies. She currently serves as Assistant Director at the ACT Government Community Services Directorate in Canberra, Australia. Before joining the public service, she contributed to research and development projects implemented in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, bringing in a gender and social inclusion perspective as senior advisor to the monitoring, evaluation, and learning components in DFAT-supported programs like more recently Investing in Women and Australian Sports Partnerships Program.